Our Mediterranean Journey : Au Revoir Côte d'Azur!

Our time is up in France! What a wonderful journey we had in the Côte d'Azur. We visited so many beautiful towns; Nice, Cap Ferrat, Beaulieu, Eze, Monaco-Montecarlo, Menton, Cannes, Antibes besides our lovely home base town Villefranche-sur-Mer. We are leaving with nostalgia. The french definitely lead a more simple life than Americans; there is more to life than their jobs. Here are some of my observations. Keep in mind it wasn't tourist season; therefore, we were able to experience their real life.

The second largest nationality of expats seem to be Brits. Hard to spot them as they speak french and have adapted to the French life style. However when they are together, they are loud and friendly. We didn't run into any Americans.

Starting with the food, I have no doubt that the french spend as much of their income on their stomachs as their Englishmen do on their cars and stereos, and Americans on their homes and cars. The French are as passionate about food as other nationalities are about sports and politics. Wine and olive oil are considered part of every meal and it is a ritual.

Seeking ambiance and fun to feast cheaply in the French Riviera is an understatement. Every place is unique and inviting as French care about the atmosphere as much as the quality of the food as they spend hours in a restaurant. They are all "très cher" expensive. You will never get the bill unless you ask for it. Ed asked the owner of the Oliveria Restaurant for the bill and he said, humorously, that it was good he asked or we would have sat there for a month!

All stores are closed from 1 pm to 3 or 4 including the supermarkets. I was doing some grocery shopping at Casino, the leading supermarket in all areas, it wasn't 1pm yet and I was asked to leave as they were closing. I couldn't finish my shopping. Definitely not customer focused.

Another rule of life, frenchman don't dare to call anyone between noon and three on Sunday. They wouldn't dream of interrupting the most relaxed meal of the week. If you get "interrupted" it must be from an Englishman or expat. After lunch, you see them walking along one of the many promenades, sitting on a bench talking to friends, or smoking, or simply people watching.

Just spending two weeks in France had turned us into bakery addicts. All "boulangeries" are very nice, everything is displayed beautifully with their handwritten signs and prices. I have always loved bread, but there is something about buying your bread fresh daily. We tried the typical baguette, the olive bread, the multi seed bread, dark crusted. We tried tarts and pastries made fresh every morning. There are 4 bakeries in Villefranche and we saw a fifth one under construction with the sign up already. This is significant as the town is very small. Frenchmen eat bread with their aperitif, salads, crudités, charcuteria, cheeses, pates, soups and desert. They also gift wrapped your pastries in pretty paper with scotch tape when you order them to go and trust me they take their time to wrap it, no matter how many people were waiting. Like this....

Olive oil is so abundant here that is used for everything from cooking, marinating cheeses and peppers, storing truffles, dipping bread, bathed the lettuce and there are different grades and flavors. It's a ritual to go into an olive oil expedition almost as much as visiting the vineyards.

Cours Saleya is the open market in Nice named for its broad exposure to the sun. It's an experience in itself with the mix of colors, smells, sights, and people carrying their shopping bag on wheels which I find very convenient. From the flowers, to the cheeses, to the meats and produces, the later has better prices here. The same place is converted into an antique market in the afternoon. Every town has an open market. We loved the displays of spices, olives, produces, fromages, charcuteries, dry fruit, fleurs and more.

Nice displays of food and vegetables with hand written prices.

Beautiful art at the Market.

French women sunbathe topless, even during cold weather. We also saw a few swimming in the cold water on sunny days. Keep in mind the temps were not higher than 55F.

The promenades are the only flat land to walk on. Otherwise, you are climbing up or going down a hill, up or down steps, some long, some short, no matter where you go. One of the many walks we did we encountered going up many steps on a curvy hill. We climbed and climbed and one more turn and couldn't see the end. Finally, we think we climbed 300 steps in sequence of 15 steps and then a short landing before the next 15 steps (but who was counting), here are a few of them...

Le Promenade d' Anglais in Nice